S Sudan declares curfew after troops clash
Salva Kiir sacked cabinet in July and suspended top negotiator at talks to defuse tensions with Sudan [Al Jazeera]South Sudan\’s President Salva Kiir declared an overnight curfew in the capital after the government foiled what he called an attempted coup.
Mr. Kiir told reporters Monday that the government is in "full control" of the security situation in the capital, Juba, after an attack at the army headquarters.
Dressed in his military uniform rather than his usual civilian clothes, Mr. Kiir said the attack was carried out by forces loyal to his former vice president, Riek Machar. Machar was fired by the president in July.
Witnesses in Juba said they heard heavy gunfire and explosions overnight Sunday into Monday morning but that the fighting mostly subsided by Monday afternoon.
International flights in and out of the capital have been canceled.
The U.S. State Department described the situation as very fluid and called on all parties to resolve their differences peacefully. Spokeswoman Marie Harf said that given the history of conflict in the region, the United States is concerned that the violence could spread.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he is deeply concerned by the fighting and what he said was "the risk of targeted violence against certain communities." He said the government must guarantee the security of all civilians regardless of which community they come from.
Hilde Johnson, the U.N. special representative for South Sudan, urged everyone involved to end the fighting and said she had been in contact with key leaders to call for calm.
The U.N. Mission in South Sudan said in a statement that hundreds of civilians have sought refuge at its compound and denied "any suggestion" that it is harboring political or military figures.
In a statement, the U.S. embassy also said that "no political or military figures" had taken refuge within its walls.
Source: VOA and agencies
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